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Pittella on Nigeria: "Democracy won. Successful elections should now strengthen the fight against Boko Haram."

Gianni Pittella, president of the Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament, said:

"Democracy has won in Nigeria. First and foremost, we want to commend the two candidates, General Buhari and President Jonathan, for having shown their belief in democracy and rule of law. The free and fair election in Nigeria represents not only a victory for all Nigerians, but for the whole of Africa. This is a turning point for Nigeria and an example for other relevant countries in the region.

"We want to congratulate General Buhari on his victory and state clearly that we are ready to cooperate with the new institutions of Nigeria.

"We insist on the importance of all relevant players accepting this result peacefully and acting in a spirit of cooperation in order to unite the country and not further divide it.

"The next President will have a responsibility to his citizens, who have demonstrated their considerable civic enthusiasm, to keep the country united and peaceful.

"We are confident that the lessons of democracy, which have been show to us by the Nigerian people, will strengthen the fight against the threat posed by Boko Haram, which remains a cancer to be wiped from the region in the most rapid and resolute manner possible.

"If Boko Haram is a global threat, the successful election in Nigeria has turned out to be a global model. Sometimes good models can be a more powerful tool than that of violence."